Grill block on 2008 Corolla (Using boat wrap)

[Chris D.]

I had this idea after soldering some electronics using heat shrink tubing.

When folks weatherproof and store their boats, they use a thick white heatshrink material.



I got some of this and the tape for it from my girlfriends work..

I wrapped my stock grill, taped it up and shrunk it with a heat gun.

Since it's white and the car is silver, I sprayed 3 coats of spray on plastidip on it making it black.. The plastidip was dry to the touch within 10 minutes after 3 coats with about 5 minutes between coats (just enough so it looked solid black) works great!



It's really solid and light..
This could work for an inexpensive lightweight boat tail or anything else you can think of.
I just thought I'd share.

Take care.

[Christ]

Hey, I like that!

[Christ]

Where might a layman procure some of this "Boat wrap" you mention afore?

[chrisgerman1983]

Great idea! That might be good for a belly pan as well? How strong is it?

[Chris D.]

It's called Marine Shrink Film.. I think that's just a general term used for it.
I'd imagine someone could get it from Uline, eBay or a local boat place..

It's fairly strong, but I'm not sure how well it would hold up as a belly pan.

[bryson]

So tape is strong enough to hold the heatshrink on the back side of the grille? I figured that it would shrink too much -- any pictures of the back?

I think this looks really good -- I may try it on the entire grille of my truck, and just swap grilles if I need to tow anything.

[mackerel]

I like it. I may do that to my truck. The spray plastidip is a nice touch to preserve something close to the normal appearance. I think I'll use the spray on bed liner I have for that.

Just for general spreading of knowledge: Around here, boat wrap can be had from the roll. It comes 27' wide, and a couple years ago I got about 8' off the roll for about $30. Shrinking it well is an art, but on a small thing like a grill, it shouldn't be too hard to do.

[Chris D.]

I got the tape that's designed for it.. if the tape touches itself, you pretty much throw it away and start again because there's no unsticking it. I'm not sure I'd recommend the bedliner, it mite not stick well to the plastic, the plastidip stays flexible and it will easily peel off if you change your mind.

It just looks like its taped together every 4 to 5", your not missing anything.

You start from the edge and work your way in.
You have to massage it with the heat gun till it looks good and tight..

[Weather Spotter]

that might work to weather proof a boat tail. make a cheep frame and covering for shape then use the heat shrink.